The size of the US Army is 1.4 million people, and according to data from open sources, the source of mobilization is estimated at 56 million potential defenders of the American homeland. This is more than in Russia, where the army is less than a million and the reserve is 30 million.
“The Pentagon is now seriously concerned about both the issue of new recruits and the quality of their training. “A new military service ad campaign will likely be needed,” NBC News reported.
According to the channel, the needs of the US Department of Defense as of June of this year are met with only 40% of the total plan for the entire “recruitment year”, which will officially end on September 30. This is an extremely low figure and will lead to staff shortages in a few years. The contract in the US Army is for a period of two to six years.
“For such indicators during the draft, less than 50% of the demand, I would be fired! – said the former military commissar of Moscow’s Savelovsky district “socialbites.ca”, reserve colonel Sergei Moiseev. Yes, and we failed the conscription campaigns in the early 1990s, when the prestige of service in the Russian army was extremely low. But for less than half – this never happened. ”
Sergei Belousov, a member of the College of Military Experts, believes that it is not entirely correct to compare the Russian and American armies in this sense. Still, the expert noted that this is “a very worrying signal for the Pentagon.”
“The US military has a contract recruitment system. There, they’ve abandoned the draft since 1973 and switched to purely contract recruitment. “There was no serious problem with recruitment before,” he said.
The expert believes that military campaigns in Iraq, Syria and especially Afghanistan affect the mood of potential military personnel.
“The war in Iraq is minus 5,000 US soldiers. But the real issue is Afghanistan. There, the United States officially lost 3,006 soldiers and more than 8,800 were injured. But they fled from there in August last year. The break was then. Everyone wants to be a part of the army of conquest, no one wants to be among the fugitives. Conscripts are also less willing to go to recruitment centers for contract service, including threats to health during combat involvement. Among the reasons often cited is the unwillingness of American men and women to be in a zone of armed conflict with Russia or China.
At the same time, the decrease in the number of volunteers ready to serve in the US army, as noted by analysts of the American company Stratfor specializing in military-political research, is also due to the fact that “only 23% of potential soldiers.” It complies with the standards of the American military.”
“The applicants to recruitment centers are overweight and have problems with drugs and alcohol. Additionally, potential recruits often suffer from diabetes, heart disease, and musculoskeletal conditions. Often times, these people have broken the law before,” says the Stratfor report.
“The Americans relied on a professional army and took a natural turn when the number of volunteers dropped due to problems both in society and in the country’s armed forces. This method of manning is more acceptable to the victorious army. The lure of military service is signed by employment agencies and even partially coincides with expectations of traveling the world at the expense of the defense budget. For example, they allow making money for college without risk. A healthy person can no longer voluntarily join the US Army without getting into trouble with the law. A person in good standing is not particularly happy with the prospect of being a target, ”military expert Vladislav Shurygin told socialbites.ca.
Source: Gazeta
